Author: John Coffey
Date: 09:16:52 11/10/98
Novag seems to have at least 3 computers with the Jasper program. This is definately a budget chess computer with only a 4K program, and comes in 3 styles of boards ranging from $25 to $40. I find the $25 Jasper unit to be the most interesting, because the seperate magnatic set is not attached to the small calculator like unit. I think that this would be interesting for practicing blindfold chess against, or playing on a full size chess board. It is very portable, and I would like to have one to take on plane trips. Anybody know what the battery life of this unit is? The claims made for this program seem to me to be questionable, as the USCF catalog refers to an estimated rating of 1750, but I thought that the USCF long ago outlawed having estimated ratings, and would only publish official CRA ratings? I used to subtract 200 points from anybody's "estimated rating." But the USCF refers to it as a "strong 4K program." There are stronger portables that Novag makes. They have a 16K program with an estimated rating of 1880 and 8mhz clock speed. The prices for these units were around $50 to $75. They didn't publish the clock speed of the Jasper. Does anyone know what clock speed the Jasper runs at? Did the Novag constellation and Super Constellation have 4 and 16K programs respectively? Didn't they run at 3.5 mhz and 4 mhz respectively? Weren't the strength of these programs around 1800 and 1900 respectively? Does anyone know of retail outlets that carry the Jasper unit? John Coffey
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